wrestling / TV Reports
Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 3.30.21
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Let’s jump into this week’s episode of AEW Dark.
The Butcher and the Blade (3-0) vs. Milk Chocolate (AEW debut)
On last week’s AEW Dark review, we asked for more Bunny. TK delivers once again! Keep the checks coming. As always, I love Butcher and Blade just destroying their opponents before the bell rings. These are little things that make a huge difference in the believability of pro wrestling characters and gimmicks. Of course two dudes named BUTCHER and BLADE have no regard for rules! Matt Hardy and Private Party got involved early in this one, but Milk Chocolate was able to regroup and get in some pretty smooth offense. That is until Bunny started screaming like a crazy woman, which allowed Butcher and Blade to drink up Milk Chocolate for the win at 5:47.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
Jazmin Allure (0-3) vs. Madi Wrenkowski (2-2)
Leva Bates on commentary, and she’s not impressed with Wrenkowski’s ring gear. Even if you don’t like it, there’s no doubt that it stands out. I’ve been impressed with both of these women in their AEW performances. Taz gets in a Primal Scream Jones line, and any time Taz adds Jones to something, it’s always entertaining. This was a back and forth match and these two worked hard, with Wrenkowski hitting the Reality Check for the victory at 4:06.
Blake’s Rating: **
Chaos Project (8-10) vs. Dean Alexander and Justin Law (AEW tag debut)
Chaos Project continues to be a favorite of mine, and Luther only added to my enjoyment when he threw Serpentico to the outside before the bell even rang. He also accidentally hit an elbow drop on Serpentico, though in Luther’s mind, he probably deserved it. Then again, according to Taz, Luther’s new name is ROCKET LAUNCHER JONES. I’m all in on an RLJ push. Have him bring out a rocket launcher and just shoot Serpentico into the crowd. As for this match, it was Chaos Project doing their thing and hitting the Creeping Death for the victory at 5:15.
Blake’s Rating: **
Sonny Kiss (2-0) vs. Angelico (0-2)
Every time I try not to dance to Angelico’s music, I wind up dancing. What’s going on with the Joey Janela heel turn? Are we still getting that at some point? Solid back and forth bout between these two, even if they bring completely different styles to the table. Angelico’s unique style always adds an intriguing element to any match that he’s in, and as usual, he focused on his submission offense and locked in the Navarro Deathlock to earn the win at 6:39.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
– Max Caster claims he can beat Hangman Page with one hand tied behind his back, but he’s most focused on his match with Alex Reynolds. Caster also says Anthony Bowens is getting better and he’ll be out there to help him.
Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and Colt Cabana (1-0) vs. Var.y Morales, Bill Collier and D3 (AEW trios debut)
The Dark Order is such a fun group. Again, it’s wild to think how far this stable has come since the fake punching days. If you haven’t watched this week’s BTE, I would highly suggest it. What other group would be willing to cut off their member’s arm to give it to LONG JOHN SILVER? Only our friends in The Dark Order. Collier reminds me of Big Cass with his size and presentation, and they gave him some shine in this match. We also got a reminder that Grayson backs down from no one, as he went toe to toe with Collier. Eventually, it was all three Dark Order members getting their signature moves in, with Cabana getting the win at 7:45.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
Adam Priest and KC Navarro (AEW tag debut) vs. Jurassic Express
Speaking of theme music to dance to…..it doesn’t get much better than this! And it most certainly doesn’t get better than Taz trying to sing the words like he did here. Taz is a national treasure. In non-singing news, I’ve enjoyed Priest’s work on AEW Dark. He has a Jamie Noble-esque approach. Navarro also offers plenty of charisma. However, not even a charismatic Jamie Noble was gonna take down the dinosaur, with Luchasaurus hitting the double chokeslam for the easy victory at 1:42.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Vipress (0-2) vs. Diamante (6-2)
Diamante is a certified badass. If AEW does indeed go the singles route with Diamante, she could have some terrific matches with the likes of Thunder Rosa, Leyla Hirsch, and others. Her aggressiveness is awesome, and that was on display in this one. Diamante just took it to Vipress and locked in the submission to get the win at 2:59.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Jake St. Patrick, Sage Scott and Chandler Hopkins (AEW trios debut) vs. Team Taz (1-1)
If you did watch BTE this week, you were treated to SKATEBOARDER BRIAN CAGE. That man’s athleticism is just ridiculous. Cage is already a star, but if they go the route of having him break away from Team Taz at some point in the future, I’m convinced he’s gonna be a mega babyface. Give me Cage vs. Miro! Hobbs completely destroyed Hopkins at one point in this match, and then Hook kicked his ass on the outside. They continued playing up the tension with Starks and Cage, as Starks stole a tag before Cage did the same after the latter hit the Roshambo. Cage then hit the Drill Claw on Hopkins for the victory at 4:57.
Blake’s Rating: **
Big Swole, Red Velvet and Kilynn King (AEW trios debut) vs. Vertvixen, Ashley Vox, and Delmi Exo (AEW trios debut)
The Sea Stars are officially teaming in AEW, so that’s an intriguing development. By the way, I’m all for these multi-person tag team matches on Dark. I’m fine with AEW doing more of these. I know the NJPW multi-person tags aren’t for everyone, but in this setting, I think it’s a good tool to build up some different mini storylines and feuds that you can use moving forward. All six women had a shot at showcasing their offense, and eventually, things broke down into a good ‘ol fashioned BROUHAHA with chaos everywhere. The Sea Stars showed nice teamwork, but it was Red Velvet stirring it up for the win at 7:42. This was pretty fun.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
– After the match, Jade Cargill comes out to go after Red Velvet, but King and Swole hold her back.
Michael Nakazawa (0-1) vs. Mike Magnum
Nakazawa has gonna corporate! What a sellout. He was rocking the headset, AEW polo shirt, and khaki pants here, so give him some extra style points for that. He even tried to use his backstage credential as a weapon, and you don’t get that in just any wrestling match. Nakasawa vs. Toru Yano has to be booked for the AEW/NJPW supershow. It just has to. Magnum probably should’ve destroyed Nakasawa, but he was clearly not ready for the LAPTOP SHOT OF DOOM, which allowed Nakasawa to hit the…..69 for the victory at 4:10.
Blake’s Rating: **
Baron Black and John Skyler vs. Kip Sabian and Miro (4-0)
Miro obviously wants a shot at the Being the Elite x Sammy Guevara’s Vlog Championship because he went right after NEW champion Baron Black. Seriously, I want that Miro vs. Cage match. It should be spectacular. Sabian never even moved from the apron, as Miro just destroyed both Black and Skyler for the easy win at 2:31. Miro also said after the match that he was going to eat someone’s liver, and I assume that was directed towards Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy. Hopefully that was not directed towards me as I do not think I would enjoy Miro eating my liver.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Max Caster (5-1) vs. Alex Reynolds (6-1)
Bowens is back, and his facial expressions are just the best. Also, JOHNNY HUNGEE was ringside looking as jacked as ever. They played up Reynolds favoring his arm early on, and that allowed Caster to go to work on it for the majority of the match. I enjoyed the back and forth between these two, with Caster playing up his heel tendencies and Reynolds desperately trying to fight through injury. However, Bowens’ return turned out to be significant, as he made the assist by giving Caster the chain, and he capitalized and hit the Mic Drop for the victory at 8:23.
Blake’s Rating: **3/4
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